# Words that are commonly (and incorrectly) pluralized or "apostrophed"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 14, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251 "2021-06-14T16:11:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/1 "2021-06-14T16:11:02Z")
In another thread I mentioned **Kroger** is often pronounced/spelled _Krogers_ or _Kroger’s_. Both are incorrect. The correct pronunciation and spelling is simply **Kroger**.
What other proper nouns do people commonly but incorrectly pluralize? Or - when spelling it - incorrectly add ownership ('s)?
And how about things that are not proper nouns? I frequently see _drivers license_ and _driver’s license_. The correct spelling, however, is **driver license**.
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### Author:  [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/2 "2021-06-14T16:13:56Z")
It’s either a driving licence or a driver’s licence. Not driver licence (or drivers licence)…
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/3 "2021-06-14T16:15:28Z")
And perhaps it various by state/country. Mine says _driver license_.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/4 "2021-06-14T16:23:43Z")
It’s common with store names, likely because so many do have that S at the end. I’ve heard “Walmarts” (or “Walmarks”), [Cato](https://www.catofashions.com/)’s, Aldi’s, and so on.
There’s also the perennial “Daylight Savings Time” or “Daylight Saving’s Time.” And there’s disagreement on whether it is New Year or New Year’s.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/5 "2021-06-14T16:29:42Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> Mine says _driver license_ .
[Pennsylvania’s reads “driver’s license”.](https://www.google.com/search?q=PA+driver+license&safe=off&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk023N-hze8gcyTWZkPmMVMlaPwWFEQ:1623688059728&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB8pmwxZfxAhURMVkFHYPnB2sQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1280&bih=843)
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### Author:  [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/6 "2021-06-14T16:32:10Z")
I personally keep writing _it’s_ instead of _its_ when referring to a quality possessed by an object e.g. _Look at that house, it’s roof is red._ I’m getting better just lately but it’s still a mistake I frequently make.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/7 "2021-06-14T16:34:42Z")
For me, it’s only a mistake I make because my phone seems to assume I want to add an apostrophe to short words. It will correct “its” to “it’s,” “ill” to “I’ll” and “were” to “we’re.” That last one is the oddest one, as I use “were” a lot more than I do “we’re.”
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/8 "2021-06-14T16:35:07Z")
Down’s or Downs used for Down Syndrome.
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### Author:  [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/9 "2021-06-14T16:42:03Z")
Anyways. The one good thing I can say about a certain movie, the name of which I forget and have no interest in recollecting, is that the annoying, totally unsympathetic lead character turned-criminal with whom we were nevertheless supposed to sympathize (because their biographies about obscure individuals didn’t make as much money as some famous novelist’s… novels) made a point of correcting someone that it’s _anyway_, not _anyways_. And so I learned something.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/10 "2021-06-14T16:45:37Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> That last one is the oddest one, as I use “were” a lot more than I do “we’re.”
In texts, I use “we’re” more often because I’m usually including my gf in texts.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/11 "2021-06-14T16:48:00Z")
> [@BigT](#):
>
> There’s also the perennial “Daylight Savings Time” or “Daylight Saving’s Time.”
I wish more people knew these are wrong.
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### Author:  [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/12 "2021-06-14T16:53:15Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> > [@Crafter\_Man](#):
> >
> > Mine says _driver license_ .
>
> [Pennsylvania’s reads “driver’s license”.](https://www.google.com/search?q=PA+driver+license&safe=off&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk023N-hze8gcyTWZkPmMVMlaPwWFEQ:1623688059728&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB8pmwxZfxAhURMVkFHYPnB2sQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1280&bih=843)
And mine is a _[Führerschein](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerschein_und_Fahrerlaubnis_(Deutschland)#/media/Datei:DE_Licence_2013_Front.jpg)_. Sounds like permission to be the Führer, but isn’t.
German even has a name for those wrong apostrophe’s\*: [Deppenapostroph](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostroph#Diskussion_%C3%BCber_fehlerhafte_Verwendung), literally idiot’s apostrophe. Some are very funny.
\* Couldn’t avoid it, sorry.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/13 "2021-06-14T16:57:44Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#):
>
> German even has a name for those wrong apostrophe’s\*: [Deppenapostroph](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostroph#Diskussion_%C3%BCber_fehlerhafte_Verwendung), literally idiot’s apostrophe. Some are very funny.
In English, they’re [grocers’ apostrophes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe#Superfluous_apostrophes_(%22greengrocers'_apostrophes%22)).
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/14 "2021-06-14T17:00:28Z")
@ASL_v2.0 You can pry “anyways” from my cold dead hands. 😛
I know it isn’t strictly proper, but I it sounds wrong to my ear when someone introduces or ends a sentence with “anyway.” I don’t quite know why, but I suspect it is dialectical. And I’ve stopped trying to remove bits of dialect from my speech to sound more “proper.” I already sound like I’m from a different state.
I do, however, make an exception for proper names, because I know how annoying it can be when people get those wrong.
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/15 "2021-06-14T17:09:25Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> The correct pronunciation and spelling is simply **Kroger**.
Some other store names: The department store chain is correctly pronounced/spelled **J.C. Penny** (Actually they appear to have stylized it as **JCPenny** now). It’s not “Penny’s” or “Pennies”.
Likewise, the department store chain in the Southeast is **Belk** , not “Belk’s”. I myself have been guilty of turning that one into a possessive.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/16 "2021-06-14T17:15:19Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> > [@Crafter\_Man](#):
> >
> > Mine says _driver license_ .
>
> [Pennsylvania’s reads “driver’s license”.](https://www.google.com/search?q=PA+driver+license&safe=off&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk023N-hze8gcyTWZkPmMVMlaPwWFEQ:1623688059728&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB8pmwxZfxAhURMVkFHYPnB2sQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1280&bih=843)
Just checked mine. Here in New York, it reads driver license.
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### Author:  [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/17 "2021-06-14T17:17:16Z")
“Soldiers Field” It’s “Soldier Field”.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/18 "2021-06-14T17:17:23Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#):
>
> Some other store names: The department store chain is correctly pronounced/spelled **J.C. Penny** (Actually they appear to have stylized it as **JCPenny** now). It’s not “Penny’s” or “Pennies”.
I actually thought about that one when I was going through my list, but I forgot that the S wasn’t there.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/19 "2021-06-14T17:26:53Z")
Arby’s, Carl’s Jr., Domino’s Pizza, Hardee’s, Long John Silver’s, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Papa Gino’s, and Wendy’s are examples where the apostrophed s is the correct spelling.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-are-commonly-and-incorrectly-pluralized-or-apostrophed/944251/20 "2021-06-14T17:45:46Z")
So it appears to be an arbitrary choice whether a business owner names his business with a possessive apostrophe – many do, many don’t.
When the possessive apostrophe in included, it appears to be an elliptical form. Thus, e.g., “McDonald’s” is short for “McDonald’s restaurant”, etc.
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